When considering Web services' (WS) use for online business-to-business (B2B) collaboration between companies, security is a complicated and very topical issue. This is especially true with regard to reaching a level of security beyond the technological layer, that is supported and trusted by all businesses involved. With appreciation of this fact, our research draws from established development methodologies to develop a new, business-oriented framework (BOF4WSS) to guide e-businesses in defining, and achieving agreed security levels across these collaborating enterprises. The approach envisioned is such that it can be used by businesses-in a joint manner-to manage the comprehensive concern that security in the WS environment has become.